Tag Archives: pink

Dusk, Mounts Dana and Gibbs, Tuolumne Meadows

Dusk, Mounts Dana and Gibbs, Tuolumne Meadows

Dusk, Mounts Dana and Gibbs, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Glowing lenticular cloud formations above alpenglow-illuminated Mounts Dana and Gibbs and the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park, California.

From mid-July through the first week of September, Tuolumne Meadows is a very popular high Sierra destination in Yosemite National Park. The meadows, which are much more extensive than drive-through visitors know, comprise one of the largset and most spectacular examples of sub-alpine meadows and are surrounded by spectacular high peaks including some, like Mounts Dana and Gibbs, that sit on the crest of the Sierra Nevada range.

Several thousand people camp at Tuolumne every evening, and after dinner many of them sit around their campsites and engage in the ritual burning of wood and other camping activities. Meanwhile, a five minute walk from the campground, a handful of people sit or stand alone or in small groups along the edge of the huge sub-alpine meadow or along the Tuolumne River and wait for magic to happen. On this evening in early July there couldn’t have been more than 30-40 people in the meadow with more near their cars along the roadway. And on this evening the magic did happen.

I feel sorry for those folks in the campground who had no idea of the sublime scene taking place mere steps away.

“Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” – Ansel Adams

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: yosemite, national, park, california, usa, sierra nevada, summer, tuolumne, tioga, river, mount, dana, gibbs, bar, bank, meaadow, forest, trees, lenticular, clouds, formations, pink, blue, gray, sunset, dusk, evening, lembert dome, reflection, rocks, water, sky, alpenglow, snow, peak, mountain, landscape, travel, scenic, stock

Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo’s

Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo's

Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo’s. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A brick wall with a few colorfully painted bricks and a gray shutter – front of Glo’s Restaurant, Seattle, Washington.

I was in the Seattle area this past weekend – and, among other things, this meant that I got my Fathers Day breakfast at my favorite breakfast place in Seattle, Glo’s in the Capitol Hill area. (The smoked salmon eggs benedict is almost worth the flight to Seattle all by itself.) There is always a wait for a table at Glo’s since it is both small and popular. While waiting for our table we first visited a nearby book store and then wandered back to the restaurant. I noticed the odd painting bricks and the juxtaposition with the darker gray shutter while waiting to be called.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Spring Lupine Blossoms, Point Lobos

Spring Lupine Blossoms, Point Lobos

Spring Lupine Blossoms, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring lupine flowers blossom at punta de los lobos marinos, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

The weather was quite foggy at Point Lobos when I photographed these blooming lupine plants along the bluffs near the punta de los lobos marinos in late April. This is actually very interesting light for wildflower photography because diffused light decreases the harsh highlights and brings out a bit more detail in the shadows, even though color balance can be a bit tricky. There were several big clusters of tall lupine plants along this bluff, and I picked one and spent some time photographing it. While sometimes the problem can be finding enough good flowers to get a shot, here the problem more or less the opposite – the flowers were so thick that it was hard to compose a shot that let the foreground flowers stand out a bit from the background!

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: point, lobos, california, usa, spring, monterey, peninsula, carmel, coast, pacific, state, reserve, park, nature, lupine, wildflower, flower, foliage, plant, blossom, bloom, lupine, leaf, nature, scenic, stem, petal, cluster, season, color, stock, yellow, pink, white, purple

Before the Dawn, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

Dawn, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

Before the Dawn, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Before dawn in Twenty Mule Team Canyon with Death Valley and high peaks beyond.

Twenty Mule Team Canyon is traversed by a good but not very busy gravel road. I was in the canyon well before dawn on this morning and torn between shooting detail photographs of the interesting eroded forms nearby and shooting the longer view down the canyon, over low peaks, and into Death Valley beyond. (In the end I worked quickly and did both!) At the time I made this photograph the very first sunlight was barely striking the highest peaks far to the north across The Valley, but the light on the nearby hills was the diffused light that comes from the sky before dawn.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: death valley, national park, panamints, amargosa, range, mountain, salt, flat, twenty mule, team, canyon, dawn, sunrise, earth, forms, fold, geology, light, hills, peaks, badlands, ridge, pink, sky, cloud, scenic, travel, landscape, stock, early, morning